Franz Ferdinand was the crown prince of the Austrian empire. In 1914 he and his wife went on a visit to Serbia, a country that Austria had a strong influence over. Several Serbian nationalists, who wanted independence from Austria, decided that they would try to kill the prince. On 28^th June 1914 they succeeded. His death led to the Austrian government making very strong demands on Serbia. Russia, keen to gain influence in Serbia, supported the Serbs. Days later the First World War had begun with the Germans declaring war on Russia.